The present invention relates to household appliances, such as top loading clothes washing machines for example. Such machines include a cabinet or housing which encloses the various operating components of the machine. When installed, such machines normally are placed with their backs close to a wall and often have very little clearance to their sides. Thus, it is desirable to provide access to the inside of the cabinet through the front, so that any needed repairs or adjustments can be made without removing the machine form its operating position. Thus it is desirable that the front panel of the cabinet be simply and easily removable. There have been a number of efforts to provide such front serviceability; however none have provided optimum front panel removability. For example, in many machines it is necessary to release the machine cover and tilt it upward in order to release the front panel. In other machines it is necessary to tilt the entire machine rearward to release the bottom of the front panel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved cabinet construction for front serviceable appliances.
It is a further object to provide such an improved cabinet construction in which the front panel is securely held in its assembled position while being easily removed without the necessity of removing any other cabinet component or moving the appliance.